Antonio Galloni Releases 20 Superb Scores for Ridge Wines

Antonio Galloni

On September 9th, Antonio Galloni of Vinous released a new set of wine reviews, 20 of which featured 90-point and higher scores for Ridge wines. Galloni wrote in the article, “I tasted more truly exceptional wines from the Santa Cruz Mountains this year than at any time over the past decade.” His full list of scores for Ridge wines are shown below:

• 2017 Monte Bello – 97+ points
• 2018 Lytton Estate Petite Sirah – 96 points
• 2018 Lytton Springs – 96 points
• 2008 Monte Bello – 95 points
• 2017 Monte Bello Chardonnay – 95 points
• 2018 Pagani Ranch Zinfandel – 95 points
• 2017 Perrone Merlot – 95 points
• 2018 Geyserville – 94+ points
• 2017 Estate Cabernet Sauvignon – 94 points
• 2018 Estate Chardonnay – 94 points
• 2017 Estate Merlot – 94 points
• 2018 Mancini Ranch – 94 points
• 2017 Hooker Creek Zinfandel – 93 points
• 2017 Klein Cabernet Sauvignon – 93 points
• 2015 Lytton Estate Syrah – 93 points
• 2019 Grenache Blanc – 92 points
• 2018 East Bench Zinfandel – 91 points
• 2018 Ponzo Zinfandel – 91 points
• 2018 Rockpile Zinfandel – 91 points
• 2018 Blasi Zinfandel – 90 points

Describing the large amount of featured Ridge wines, Galloni wrote:

“I tasted more wines than ever at Ridge this year. Not that I am complaining, as this collection is jam-packed with fabulous wines that will delight Ridge fans. Mild weather with no heat spikes created conditions for even ripening in 2018. As I have already written previously, 2018 is an absolutely magical vintage for Sonoma County. The 2018 Zinfandel and Zinfandel-based wines are off the charts gorgeous, with a level of purity I am not sure I have seen before. In the Santa Cruz Mountains, 2018 yielded wines that are gracious and silky, but also a bit restrained. Ridge’s 2017s are shaping up to be magnificent.”

Our 2017 vintage of Monte Bello received the highest score of 97 points, which Galloni described as follows:

“The 2017 Monte Bello continues to develop beautifully. A heady, opulent wine, the 2017 also has tons of supporting structure to balance things out. Layers of dark red/purplish fruit give the 2017 remarkable primary intensity, with hints of licorice, mocha, dried flowers and menthol that build over time, hinting at the wine’s ultimate potential. Sensual and exotic, but with plenty of tannic clout, the 2017 has a very bright future. Today, it is decidedly explosive. In 2017, the berries were small, and that high skin-to-juice ratio yielded a Monte Bello that is quite imposing in the early going.”

For full reviews of all the wines listed above, look to the “press” sections of the wines linked above, or follow the link to the full article below: